St. John’s holds off Ole Miss despite late-game woes

It was ugly.

It was sloppy.

It was far closer than expected.

But in the end, it was a win.

Nine days after the disappointing loss to Auburn to cap a 1-2 trip to Las Vegas, St. John’s faced another SEC foe.

Like the Auburn game, the Red Storm led by double digits but this time were able to finish out the win.

Dylan Darling scored all seven of his points in the final four minutes, and Zuby Ejiofor was a monster on the defensive end as St. John’s survived a nightmarish shooting display in a 63-58 win over Ole Miss.

St. John’s led by as many as 15 in the first half and 14 deep into the second but never could put away the Rebels.

It led by only four late, but Darling came up big.

Ejiofor notched a career-high eight blocks, along with 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

Malik Dia had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Ole Miss, which has dropped four in a row.

St. John’s hardly resembled the team that entered the game ranked eighth in offensive efficiency.

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They shot 34 percent from the field, missed 10 free throws and were 4-of-22 from long range.

The defense was the star, forcing 20 Ole Miss turnovers, and St. John’s held the Rebels to 10 second-chance points, a step in the right direction.

It was a disjointed first half that saw St. John’s lead by as many as 15, but only take an eight-point edge into the break.

It shot only 33 percent from the field and committed eight turnovers, but it defended well and turned 13 Ole Miss turnovers into 16 points.

Ejofor only scored two points and missed all three of his field goal attempts, but made a difference on the other end of the floor with three steals and six blocks.

Ian Jackson and Oziyah Sellers each scored seven points to lead the Johnnies, who closed the half poorly.

Up 15 with 3:59 to go, St. John’s was outscored by seven the rest of the period.

Ole Miss twice converted on a second chance, a bugaboo of the Red Storm so far this season.

The second half started poorly, Ole Miss quickly getting within five and creating some anxious moments.

St. John’s offense was stagnant and it couldn’t make open shots.

But the defense refused to break, and eventually the lead got back up to 14, following a Sadiku Ibine Ayo 3-pointer with 8:06 to go.

Ole Miss reeled off the next 10 points, making it a game late. In crunch time, though, St. John’s was able to make the necessary plays to close out the win.